Kaduna State Government says it is planning to send technical teachers to Germany for training as part of effort to boost technical education in the state.
Prof. Andrew Nok, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology in the state, said this at the closing of a five-day practical skills training in Kaduna on Friday.
The training was organised by the state government for 60 technical teachers and instructors.
According to him, the teachers will be train in automobile mechanics, engine building, vehicle services and maintenance, among others.
He said a memorandum of understanding would soon be sign with the German government to make it a reality.
The commissioner said the decision was taken to ensure that technical teachers in the state were well equipped to provide quality practical skills to their students.
Nok said the just concluded training was organised to improve the practical skills of technical teachers, adding that it was one of the efforts designed by the state government to boost technical education in the state.
He also said that plans had been concluded to address the challenges affecting technical education, adding that such challenges include poor facilities, obsolete equipment and lack of consumables needed for practicals.
According to him, technical education is key in achieving sustainable development, stressing that state will do everything possible to exploits potentials of technical education.
Nok said: “Our desire is to utilised the potentials of technical education to address the problem of unemployment by building an army of technically skillful youths to bridge the manpower gap in the technology sector.
“We are currently renovating our schools and equipping them with the needed facilities to ensure quality.
“Very soon, our technical colleges will be renovated and equip with modern facilities to ensure practical-based teachings.
“We want our automobile mechanical students, for example, to be able to fix and service government vehicles; electrical and electronic students to be able to fix mobile phones. I assure you we shall get there.”
Earlier, participants of the training, in a communiqué read by the Chief Facilitator of the training, Alhaji Audu Gambo, decried the poor state of workshops in technical colleges and secondary schools in the state.
They said that most technical colleges and secondary schools in the state did not have functional workshops, while those with functional workshops were crippled with obsolete and dysfunctional equipment and machines.
They, therefore, urged the state government to renovate and equip schools’ workshops with the needed facilities to boost quality of technical education.
They equally said that the existing five technical colleges in the state were not enough, and recommended that 18 more be established.
The participants also advised the government to prioritise gender-friendly vocational trades to give more opportunities to girls who have flair for emerging gender-sensitive trades.
They stated: “There are emerging trades some of which are gender-friendly. Such trades include catering, fashion design, garment, tailoring, printing, cosmetology, information and communication technology and many others.
“Some of these trades should be introduced in the existing colleges and those to be established in the future.”
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